Artistic Padawan
by Elrah
Summary: Cleo is an almost ordinary human. One day she is painting on the walls of an ally and crashes into Sabine while trying to escape some troopers. Their common interest in art causes Sabine to ask Cleo a life changing question. Undergoing some edits and slow updates.
1. Chapter 1: Artistic Interests

**This is my first fanfic here! I'm not completely sure I'm formatting this correctly. Anyways, hope you like it.**

"You've got to be kidding me! I was almost done!" I shout at the incoming troopers while scooping my painting supplies into my backpack. I glance back at my artwork on the beige wall; the pencil marks are still visible through the thin layer of paint that I had managed to put on before the patrol saw me. The painting is of a black and white war scene with the souls of the dead coming out of their bodies in color. I snapped a mental picture of it, knowing that the Empire would most likely repaint the building. I sigh and start to run in the opposite direction of the bucket heads.

"You there! Stop!" a trooper yells at my back. I hear some of them raising their guns. I turn around and run backwards. "Stop or we will shoot!" another one says aiming the gun at my chest, the weapon most likely set to stun. I snicker remembering how bad their aim was during their last encounter.

"Like you could hit me!" I yell back, laughing loudly. I suddenly run into someone and fall backwards, causing my supplies to spill onto the walkway. I hadn't realized that I had run into the plaza or that anyone was around me. I look up and see a girl wearing a colorful helmet and matching painted armor. "Sorry 'bout that. I-um-wasn't paying attention," I say quietly, picking up my brushes and paints.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," she crouches down and helps me pick up my brushes, handing them to me after making sure the handles weren't broken.

"Thanks," I mumble, taking the brushes and putting them back into my backpack.

"You paint a lot?" the Mandalorian asks me, peeking into my pack.

I paused for a moment, surprised that someone would talk to me. Most people see me avoid me because of my paint stained clothes, making them believe that I vandalize things. "Yeah, you might see some of my works around the city," I admit nervously.

"That's pretty amazing," she says, "What colors do you have?" She pulls me out of the way of traffic and holds out her hand to look through my bag of art supplies.

"Too many to count, most of them are at my hideout," I say and hand her my pack. She opens it and rustles through it.

"You have spray paint?!" she says with a surprised tone. She takes out the cans from my backpack.

"I use it on rare occasions. I'm running out," I shrug, "You can try it out."

"Really! Let's go find a place to use it!" she grabs my wrist and has me follow her to an abandoned ally. "By the way, my name's Sabine Wren." She shakes the can, getting ready to create.

"Okay," I say hesitantly, "I'm Cleo."

"Awwh! This is an awesome color, Cleo!" Sabine says while admiring the purple streak. "Oh, earlier you said that I may have seen your art around town. Do you draw on the walls?" she asks me seriously.

"I won't get in trouble if I tell you, right?" I question her cautiously.

"I promise that I won't get you into any kind of trouble. I'm actually an artist, too!" Sabine smiles kindly, comforting me a bit.

"Yes, I've got no where else to put my artwork so it goes on the walls," I stare at the blank wall, imagining what could fill it, "But…"

"But everyone mistakes it as vandalism. Right?" Sabine completes my sentence.

"Yeah. That's always what happens," I admit sadly, unconsciously rubbing a scar that starts at the middle of my cheek and curves down to the back of my lower neck.

"How'd you get that?" she points at my scar.

"Oh this?" I laugh nervously, "Just an accident with some people." I try to force away the memory of the stinging whip. I wince as I fail to reject the memory.

"Sorry for bringing it up," Sabine apologizes.

"It's not a big deal," I say. I turn around and see a flash of white.

"We'd better go," Sabine says and puts the spray paint back into my bag. "Here," she hands me my pack. I take my bag back and nod in thanks. The bucket heads notice us in the ally and start to approach us.

"I'll see you later then," I start to walk away.

"Wait, maybe…you want to see some of my artworks?" Sabine asks.

"Sure," I say happily, "not like I got anywhere else to go." I add quietly to myself.

"What was that?" Sabine asks, pretending that she didn't hear me.

"Oh nothing. Let's hurry and go," I brush off my comment. She shrugs and signals me to follow her.

We end up walking out of the city and into a field. We walk up to a ship far from the city. Sabine uses her comlink to talk to someone inside, "Specter 2, open up the doors, I need to show something to a new friend."

After a few minutes there is a reply from another female, "Specter 5, I though you were on a supply run with Specter 1 and Specter 4? What are you doing here early?"

Sabine sighs, annoyed, "We split up, just let me in!" she hits the door.

"Alright, alright. Stand back and I'll open the ramp." The female voice says again.

The door that Sabine hits folds down and forms a ramp into the ship. I stare in wonder at the inside of the ship. "Come on, you can come inside. I'll show you my works," Sabine smiles and pushes me inside the ship.

"Who were you talking to?" I ask Sabine warily.

"Oh, just the pilot. My room's up here," Sabine climbs up a ladder and she steps inside her colorful room. "I mostly do graffiti so if you want you can borrow some of my supplies."

"Really?" I ask her, surprised.

"Sure! Though, you'll have to make a deal with me," she smirks mischievously.

"What deal?"

"You have to join our crew!" Sabine says, smiling.

"Sure!" I say without thinking, I pause for a minute, "Wait! WHAAAAT!?"

 **I hope you liked it. I might change POV in the next chapter. Or maybe not…**

 **I would like if you reviewed it so I can improve!**

 **Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Crew and Cleaning Up

**I'm updating this now, I should do homework…strangest thing is that I have a C in Literature; I'm just not good with essays and stuffs like that.**

 **Anyways, onto chapter 2!**

 **I forgot to mention that Sabine took off her helmet in chapter 1.**

* * *

"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!" I hold my hands in front of me in a stopping motion. "Sabine, you seriously want me-" I point to myself, "-to join your-" I point to her, "-crew?"

"Well, I asked didn't I?" Sabine says in a 'well-duh' tone, "Besides, I've seen your artwork. You don't really appreciate the Empire do you?" She puts her hands on her hips and waits for me to answer her.

"Okay, okay," I say slowly, "I don't love the Empire but that doesn't mean I can join your crew."

"You can't join our crew? Kid, by the looks of it, you can't get a roof over your head!" Sabine gestures towards my tattered paint-splatter clothes and my dirty appearance.

"That was rude but it is kinda true…" I trail off and try to avoid Sabine's gaze.

"Cleo, I know this sounds absolutely insane but I really want you to join our crew! Please, just at least think about it." Sabine pleads. As she finishes talking a woman, the one Sabine was talking to on her com outside, speaks on the loudspeaker of the ship. "Everyone in the lounge now. Sabine, bring your friend with you too."

"I guess your crew wants to meet me?" I laugh awkwardly at the pilot's announcement.

"Yeah. I guess so, follow me," Sabine sighs and walks out her cabin with me following her closely. I guess I'm still unconsciously afraid of people because I apparently let out a whimper causing Sabine to put her hand on my shoulder in a comforting way. I smile to show that I'm fine and we walk into the lounge. In the left corner there's a c-shaped booth with red cushions and 2 matching red stools. The table in the center of the c-shape is black rimmed and the center is checkered black and white. Next to the booth is a big wooden looking rocking chair and to the left of that is some sort of unit, maybe for storage.

"Who's our guest?" a gruff male voice grumbles. I look at the source and see a gray purple and purple striped Lasat with green eyes. He has a beard on his chin and sides of his face. His armor (shoulders and chest) is green and has designs painted on it while the rest is a jumpsuit of a dark yellow-green color.

"Sabine's apparent friend," the familiar voice of the pilot replies. The pilot is a Twi'lek with green skin and light green patterns. Her eyes are a green-blue. She's wearing a white band think around her head and base of her tails and over that are a pair of goggles and headphone looking things. The shoulders, chest and boots of her outfit are brown with the rest of it a yellow-orange color.

"Sabine you know we don't have enough credits for another member. We're barely making do now that we have Ezra," a human male says in a consoling manner. He has brown hair and tan skin. His eyes a unique teal color. His armor is on his right arm is a dark green and goes up to his right shoulder, where there is also a symbol of sorts. The rest of his outfit is a dark yellow-green sweater, blue pants and brown boots. He has a blaster on his right leg and a cylindrical object hanging from his belt.

"I heard my name, what about me?" a teenage boy walks out from one of the rooms in the hallway where Sabine's room is. He has dark blue hair, electric blue eyes and tanned skin. He's wearing an orange jumpsuit with multiple pockets, a tan vest over that and green gloves. The left knee and lower of the jumpsuit is torn off and brown while his right knee has a white covering going down to the end of the pant leg. His boots are also a brown color.

A droid that was parked between the two stools warbles an answer and the teen understood. The droid was a C1-10P with an orange top and a white bottom. One of his legs was mismatching from the other.

"So, Sabine. Who's your friend?" the teenager asks.

"This is Cleo. I found when she was getting chased by bucket-heads on the street," Sabine pushes me in front of her. I start to feel shy and hold my elbow from behind my back. I look to the side to avoid everyone's gaze. "Cleo this is Kanan-" she points to the human male, "-Hera-" she points to the pilot, "-Zeb-" she points to the Lasat, "-Ezra-" she points to the teen, "-and Chopper." She points to the droid.

"Why was she getting chased by troopers again?" Hera asks Sabine, wondering how someone so young would be able to get into so much trouble.

 _They think I'm ten! This always happens! Just because I'm on the short side doesn't mean that I'm a little kid! I think to myself, annoyed that I'm so short. 5 foot 2 inches to be precise. I sigh and look down at my feet._

"Hey, kid," I feel someone tapping on my shoulder. I look up and see Kanan smiling at me. "You know I can hear you? Right?" His face looses the smile and maintains a serious look.

"What do you mean?" I ask him quietly.

"I think what Kanan is talking about is the Force. You can use the Force, Cleo?" Ezra questions me excitedly. _Force. Force. Force. Where have I heard that term? It's on the tip of my tongue! Where? Think!_ I furrow my eyebrows upset that I can't remember where I had heard the term before.

"Whoa, kid. Relax. Don't think so much. You'll blow out your brains." Kanan says gently.

"You can hear my thoughts?" I ask him a bit louder.

"Well, yes."

"How?"

"That's going to be hard to explain," Kanan sighs softly.

"What's the Force? Let's just start with that," Ezra suggests.

"Okay, let's start there. But I'll explain later." Kanan says. I look at Ezra who looks let down that Kanan won't explain it to me. A silence fills the room when my stomach decides that it's a good time to let out a big growl. I feel myself blush, remembering that I had skipped breakfast like usual and missed out on lunch.

"Would you like something to eat?" Hera asks concerned and almost going into mother-mode.

"Yeah," I mumble quietly.

"I'll make something," Hera left the room, presumably to the kitchen.

 _^Hey. Hey, kid.^_ I hear Kanan's voice inside my head (AN: Kanan's voice inside Cleo's head will be surrounded by ) _^Can you hear me?^_

 _What do you want?_

 _^Answer a question for me will you?^_

 _Fine._

 _^Where are your parents?^_

 _I don't know._

 _^Everyone knows where his or her parents are. Just guess^_

 _Fine. I guess dead._

 _^That was a quick guess. Even Ezra had a tough time admitting to himself that his parents were dead.^_

 _I tend to not care about things I don't remember._

 _^You don't remember your parents?^_

 _No. I don't really want to._

 _^Why not?^_

 _Because, they've been gone my whole life and I don't see the point in seeing them now._

 _^Okay, onto the next subject. Do you want to get cleaned up?^_

 _Sure._

"Cleo, I'll show you to the shower," Kanan gestured for me to follow him. Sabine handed me a spare set of clothes she found in her room.

"They might be kinda big on you. If they are just ask Ezra to borrow his clothes." She says.

"Okay," I take the clothes and quickly follow Kanan.

"Here, this makes the water colder and hotter and use this body wash." Kanan showed me the shower.

"Get out so I can shower." I say to Kanan.

"Right," he says, "Sorry it just doesn't look like you're a girl."

"Yeah," I comment, "I always cut my hair and my clothes are baggy so you can't really see my chest."

"I could explain what the Force is to you through the Force while you shower," Kanan suggests, "It'll make things go faster."

"Sure," I say and close the door. I start to strip and see a bin in the corner full of clothes. I throw my dirty clothes into the bin and look at the shower controls. I take off the mini flashlight that I keep on a chain around my neck and a stone that also hangs around my neck but on red string. I take off none of my bracelets because those can get wet.

 _^Do you want me to start explaining now?^_ Kanan asks suddenly.

 _Whenever you want to start you can start._ I turn on the shower and step in, the warm water rinsing off all the dirt and paint on my body.

 _^So the Force is everywhere, it surrounds us, penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together. It's stronger in some people and barely noticeable with others.^_ Kanan says briefly.

 _So it's in this water?_

 _^You could say that, yeah.^_ Kanan thought/said with a laugh.

 _Am I breathing it in?_ I ask curiously. I pour the body wash onto my palm and start to scrub down my skin.

 _^Sure^_ Kanan laughs again.

 _I lied._ I tell Kanan guiltily.

 _^About what?^_

 _My parents._

 _^I figured that. After all most people aren't willing to tell people they just met about their personal life.^_

 _Yeah. But I know where they are._

 _^So, won't they be worried about you?^_

 _No. They forgot I exist._

 _^I'm no parent but shouldn't that be impossible? I mean for a parent to forget about their own kid.^_ Kanan says with disbelief.

 _It's not their fault. I don't blame them for forgetting me. It was most likely for the best._ I sigh and scrub my face and neck for dirt and grime. Then move onto my hair, which is not tangled because I spent most of my time with my hair tied in a small ponytail, but it's still tangled. I tug on my hair with my fingers as a comb, gravel and dirt draining into the pipes, along with some strands of my black hair.

 _^It's not my place to ask but what happened?^_

 _I barely remember. But here's what I do remember. I think I was 5 when it happened. Someone was knocking on our door, loudly; I think the person was wearing white. My dad answered in and I heard blaster shots. Next thing I see is my mom running from the other room and scooping me up, placing me in a wooden crate. She left too, after placing me on the neighbor's porch._

 _^What happened after that?^_

 _The neighbor didn't want me. They were cruel and ended up throwing me to the Loth-wolves. But as you can tell, I didn't get eaten. After being raised by some animals for a few years, I left them and went into the city. After a few more years in the city, I saw them again, my parents. They were walking around like nothing had happened years before. When I went up to them out of excitement and happiness they said they didn't know who I was. Makes sense, they hadn't seen me for 6 years. I told them I was their daughter and they replied by saying that they never had a daughter. I'm 14 now, so it's been a while since I last saw them and that happened._

 _^Kid, Loth-wolves haven't been seen in a hundred years, you would be eaten. You said the person who shot your parents was wearing white?^_

 _I think so._ I wash my feet and between my toes.

 _^The Empire then.^_

 _Most likely._ I say, finishing my shower. I turn off the water. _Which towel do I use?_

 _^We have a spare in the cabinet in the corner. You can use that.^_

 _Okay._ I find the towel and dry myself off. I unfold the clothes that Sabine loaned me. The t-shirt is purple with different colored dots and the pants are blue shorts. I pull on the underwear that doesn't really fit me but I use a bobby pin I found in one of the draws to make the waist smaller. I step into the shorts and realize that Sabine's size is way bigger than mine. Which make sense because I'm way shorter and thinner than her. I notice a string and pull it, making the short's waist tighten. I shrug knowing that this was my best bet. I hold out the shirt in front of me, it's obviously not going to fit me. If I put it on it will look like I'm wearing a tiny bed sheet. I reach out to Kanan with the force, _Hey, Kanan._

 _^Yeah?^_ He replies, probably wondering why I was taking so long.

 _Can you ask Ezra if I can borrow a spare shirt? The one Sabine gave me to wear is way too big for me._ I toss my towel into the hamper.

 _^Sure. I'll be right back.^_ Kanan leaves the doorway and I hear his footsteps fading.

"I really wish I had a comb," I talk out loud to myself. I look in the mirror and see that I look awful. I have dark circles under my light green eyes, my tanned skin is a slight red from all the scrubbing and my hair is visibly knotted in many places. I look at the scar on my cheek for a moment before looking at the rest of my figure. I still have a ton of fresh cuts and bruises from when a few weeks ago and many scars from years before. I sigh and hear Kanan's footsteps again. This time he talks out loud.

"I have Ezra's shirt. He says you can keep it. He was going to throw it away anyway," Kanan passes on Ezra's message.

"I'll tell him thanks later. I have to cover up, so wait a minute," I look around for something to cover my chest so I can open the door to get the shirt.

"I'll just close my eyes and give it to you," Kanan says, "I'm going to open the door."

"O-okay," I say nervously. The doors open and Kanan has his left hand over his eyes.

"Here," he holds out the shirt. I take it and he steps back and the doors close again.

"Thanks," I mumble.

"No problem. I'm going to wait with the others in the lounge. Come out when you're ready," Kanan notes. I hear his footsteps walk away.

I look at the shirt Ezra gave me. It's normal and looks the right size. The shirt is mainly white but has orange stripes on the sleeves and stomach. I sigh and slip the shirt over my head. It fits well but still sags around my shoulder. I put on my shoes and my two necklaces and leave the bathroom. As I walk back to the lounge, I retie my wet hair and wipe my wet hands on the shirt.

"Sabine, hon, I really don't think that we need another crew-member," I hear Hera's voice echo.

"But she's an orphan! And she paints!" Sabine exclaims.

"It looks like she's force sensitive, too," Kanan comments.

"I agree with Hera," Zeb grumbles, "This is just going to be like Ezra all over again and I don't want another Ezra."

"I kinda like her," Ezra notes, "Besides we have to help her! I don't want another person living a life like mine."

Hera groans, thinking of an idea, "How about this? We take her on our next mission and see if she's good enough. If not, we'll find someone to take care of her."

"Okay, that's not a bad idea," Sabine thinks about it.

Chopper warbles something that I translate to say "Let's just dump her, we have more than enough meat-bags on this ship."

I sigh again; _some of them really don't want me here._ I decide that I should stop eavesdropping and go into the room. I step inside and immediately smell something mouth watering. On the table there are 6 plates full of pasta and mashed potatoes. I must have taken a long time. I wave nervously as they stop shouting at each other.

Ezra breaks the silence first, "Hey Cleo!" He pats the stool to his left (he was sitting on the right stool), "Come eat. Hera's cooking is delicious!" Ezra smiles at me, most likely trying to get me to feel welcomed.

"Thanks," I sit next to Ezra hesitantly, I look at the food and my mouth fills with saliva.

"Eat, you need the energy," Kanan say, leaning on the wall next to the door that goes to everyone's cabin.

"Thanks," I say quietly and start to eat the spaghetti. It was good like Ezra said.

 _^Do you like it?^_ Kanan asks me through the Force.

 _Yeah._ I admit to him.

 _-I'm glad!-_ Ezra surprisingly joins in on our Force conversation. (AN: Ezra's voice in Cleo's head will be surrounded by _\- -_ )

 _^Ezra!^_ Kanan says strictly like saying 'What are you doing?!'

 _-Sorry. Just wanted to know what you guys were talkin' about.-_

 _It's fine._ I start to chew on the potatoes. _This is one of the best meals I have had in years!_

 _-Judging by your expression, I guess you haven't had a good meal in a long time.-_ Ezra smiles at me while I eat.

"Can you guys stop it with the talking with the Force? We really would rather hear what you say. Out loud," Zeb says loudly in an annoyed tone.

"Sorry," I apologize, involuntarily cringing at the harsh tone.

"Zeb!" Hera says with an expression that says 'Quit scaring her!'

"We were just talking about when Cleo's last good meal was," Kanan reassured Zeb that they weren't making fun of him. I snort-laugh and finish my meal.

"Do you want seconds?" Sabine asks me.

"No thaaaaaanks," I manage to say through a yawn.

"Are you tired? It's early but you can bunk with Sabine," Hera suggests as I try to stay awake. I feel a wave of drowsiness overcome me and my eyes start to droop.

"Yeammmhmhmhm…" I trail off my words as my start to feel even more tired. I get up to go to Sabine's room but end up stumbling into Kanan. "Sorrmmym…" I try to apologize as my vision blurs when my eyelids start to close.

"How 'bout I just carry you to bed?" Kanan asks me even though he probably knows I can't reply in my sleepy state. Instead I just let him carry me to Sabine's cabin. When he places me on the bed, I feel so happy that I got to sleep on something so soft. I snuggle into the fabric and Kanan drapes a blanket over me. I sense the other crewmembers watching us but for some reason it doesn't bother me. I hear someone teasing Kanan about being something. My vision turns black and all the noises drown out. I fall asleep and don't dream that night.

* * *

I wake up to a loud noise. The noise being a loud clang of metal. I wake up and rub most of the sleepiness out of my eyes. I slowly stand up and follow the loud sound to the lounge. In the lounge Zeb and Chopper are arguing about something, Sabine is designing something on a paper and Ezra, Kanan and Hera are nowhere insight.

"Hey, sleepyhead." Sabine waves at me from her seat the booth.

"Hey," I manage to say, my throat feeling scratchy and dry.

"You've been asleep for a while," she notes as she goes back to sketching.

"What time is it?" I ask when I sit down.

"1pm."

"Do you have water?" I ask trying to make my throat less dry.

"Yeah, just wait here," she stands and goes to the kitchen.

"Chopper! Stop that!" Zeb yells again.

Chopper warbles a reply "You're the one that kicked me!"

"You know that I can't understand you!"

Chopper replies, "Because you don't have a brain!"

Zeb huffs and ends the fight. They've probably been at it for a while.

"You're up!" Hera says as she steps into the room from the doors that lead to the cabins.

I wave and go back to observing Chopper.

"Are you hungry?" Hera asks me, trying to make conversation, sitting down on the stool in front of me.

"I'm fine," I say, not feeling hungry at all. _Skipping breakfast and lunch is normal for me anyways._

"I heard that." Kanan walks in with Ezra, "You need to eat. Skipping meals is bad for your health."

"What'd she say?" Ezra asks curiously, sitting on the other stool.

"I got you juice and fruit," Sabine enters from the kitchen and sets the glass of apple juice and plate of cut up jogans in front of me.

"There. Eat." Kanan orders me.

"What'd she say?" Ezra asks again.

"She said that she normally skips breakfast and lunch," Kanan tells Ezra my thoughts.

"I used to do that! It's hard to eat more than three meals if you haven't in a while," Ezra explains the reason why I wasn't hungry.

"Okay, then lets just start with one meal and a snack," Hera comprimises.

I nod nervously. _I don't even think my stomach can handle that much food…_

"All stomachs can. Ezra eats a lot more than all of us," Kanan says.

"Okay, then I'll try to eat more," I smile forcefully.

"Thanks for saying that, now eat up," Hera smiles, glad that I agreed to eat more.

"What were you guys doing?" I ask while munching on a slice of jogan.

"Jedi training!" Ezra says happily but holds his head when Kanan hits his head.

"Ezra! What have I said about holding your tongue!" Kanan sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose.

"Well, she should know about training. She is going to be staying here after all." Ezra explains.

"I know what Jedi are. So that round thing on Kanan's belt and that square think on Ezra's belt are lightsabers?" I ask finishing my jogan.

"You catch on fast! Yup, do you wanna see mine?" Ezra asks excitedly.

"Sure!" I say, feeling happy for the first time in a while.

"I'll show you outside! We can go on top of the ship," Ezra waves for me to follow him and leaves.

"Thanks for the jogans!" I shout at Sabine who is smiling along with Hera and Kanan.

"Try not to get into any trouble!" Kanan shouts after us.

"We won't!" Ezra laughs.

* * *

 **Well…sorry it's a bit short.**

 **Also! Updates won't usually come this fast. I just update whenever I have time or an idea.**

 **Please review so I can get better!**

 **THANKS!**


	3. Chapter 3: Old Friends

**I'm back with an update! Just that I got bored and had time to write…**

 **Anyways, here's chapter 3! Did I forget to mention that Cleo is from Lothal? By the way the crew is still on Lothal, also. This mainly takes place right after Ezra gets his first lightsaber.**

 **I'm still new at this so, SORRY!**

 **6-29-18**

 **Going through some edits because Loth-wolves play a more important part in future seasons now that I finally caught up with everything.**

* * *

Ezra and I climb down the ladder and go out the cargo bay ramp. He climbs up the ship's hull with me on his heels.

"That's actually a nice view," Ezra gestures at the horizon. The sun is still a ways from setting but the clouds and glowing plains makes beautiful scenery.

"I have got to paint that one of these days," I sigh in relief and comfort. I really prefer the outside instead of a stuffy ship.

"I bet it would look great," Ezra agrees and smiles at me.

"Thanks," I smile back, this time not forcefully, "Now let's see that lightsaber!"

"Oh yeah," Ezra had forgotten what they were up there for. He unhooks the handle from his belt and holds it out in front of him. He presses a button and a blue blade appears. He swings it around like he was fighting someone, making a sound similar to _vrãu_ every time the blade swished through the air.

"Awesome!" I shout with joy, "I kinda wish I had one."

"That would be so cool for practicing!" Ezra agrees. We both laugh loudly but stop when we hear a loud _thwak_! Ezra looks at me as if to ask if I knew where the noise came from. I reply by shrugging my shoulders, I decide to talk to him through the Force. I reach out to him, _what do you think it was?_

 _-I dunno, you wanna go check? It'll be more fun if we don't tell the others though.-_ Ezra surprised look that I had used the Force soon wears off.

 _Sure! I think it came from behind one of the rock structures to the right._ I point in the direction of a large assembly of rocks that are stacked on each other.

 _-Maybe, here follow me.-_ Ezra leaps off the hull of the ship and walks through the grass (AN: is it grass or wheat? I'm not really sure.) I follow him closely.

 _I hear something growling._ I perk up my ears and hear a deep rumbling.

 _-I hear that too.-_ Ezra stalks towards the rocks.

 _Wait! I think I recognize the growl! Don't do anything!_

I realize that it could be a creature I know and I get in front of Ezra and stop his advance with his lightsaber. "Just wait right here and only come when I scream," I tell him slowly aloud.

"What? You 'recognize the growl'? Shouldn't I be the one to tell you to wait here?" Ezra protests but his tone confused.

"Just wait right here," I say quickly, slowly approaching the structure. I hadn't noticed one of the wolves creeping behind Ezra.

I peek behind the rock and see a patrol of Loth-wolves, two of them to be exact. I look at their features to see if I knew them from the den. The first I recognize to be my friend from years ago, her name is Vhaar, the second I remember to be one of the hunters, a male named Cabi. I look at Ezra and a third Loth-wolf had knocked him out cold. I recognize the third to be named Reize, he is also a hunter. I approach them and let them figure out who I am. Vhaar is the first to remember me; she immediately pounces on me with joy and starts to lick my face. She yelps and barks in happiness translating to, "Cleo! Cleo! It's so great to see you! You haven't come to visit in ages! You're all grown up!" The other two recognize me when Vhaar starts to shout my name.

"So you're the human cub that we picked up all those years ago, you have grown taller," Reize nods in approval of my aging progress.

"Who's your friend behind there?" Cabi asks me, pointing his snout in the direction of sleeping Ezra.

"Oh, that's Ezra," I get Vhaar to stop licking me.

"Your friend? Can we meet him?" Vhaar jumps up and down in more joy.

"You put him to sleep!" I exclaim looking at the three Loth-wolves.

"He's not exactly ready to meet us," Cabi mutters.

"Ok," I turn around and look at Ezra, "But knocking him out! He's my friend!"

"Your friends? His scent is only on your shirt! Why are you wearing his shirt!" Vhaar growls.

"Because his teammates picked me up from a small thing I was doing earlier." I try to explain what happened without making them too overprotective.

"Sure." Cabi huffs.

"So can we meet these _friends_ of yours?" Reize asks.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." I say hesitantly.

"I think it's a great idea!" Vhaar's ears perk up slightly.

"Fine," I say, defeated. "Only Kanan."

"Only the Jedi?" Reize questions.

"I forgot that you guys have a sensitivity thing. Yes only the Jedi." I grumble and drag Ezra to the base of the ramp of the ship. "Stay here and don't knock out anyone else."

The Loth-wolves sit next to Ezra as I go get Kanan.

I step into the lounge and look for Kanan. He's easy to find as he's sitting at the table with Sabine discussing something about paint supplies. They look up at me when I enter the room.

"What's up kid?" Kanan asks me as I shuffle towards him.

"Did Ezra cut off his own finger?" Sabine jokes.

"I need to talk to Kanan about something," I say, "outside."

Kanan stands and smiles, "Sure, Cleo."

We walk silently to the ramp and Kanan eyes glance at me then the Loth-wolves then at Ezra's sleeping corpse.

"So," I say awkwardly, "meet my family."

With that Kanan promptly fell forward and was caught by Cabi

"Reize!" I shouted.

"You can stay here." Reize says to me.

"Just be very careful." Cabi lowers Kanan to the floor.

"Thank you. Now would you please leave and come back when you don't have to put all my friends to sleep?" I exaggerate a bit.

"When we come back is not always up to us." Reize flicks his ears and walks off the ramp.

"See ya later then." I frown.

Vhaar licks my cheek and nudges me. "We're always around."

I look away and sit Kanan and Ezra up against a crate inside the loading bay.

Hera walks in and looks at us. "Looks like it's been an eventful day. So let's have dinner." Hera smiles and Kanan and Ezra wake up, confused as ever.

"Good morning you two." I smile as they get to their feet.

"What happened?" Ezra asks me as we walk back to the lounge.

"You decided to take a nap in the sun." I improvise.

Ezra frowns and sits next to me at the table. Hera dishes out the food (AN: not really sure what they eat) and Kanan glances at me, probably wanting to talk but once Ezra or anyone else wasn't able to listen in.

"Thanks, Hera," I say and then start to chow down on the potatoes.

We eat most of what Hera cooked, Ezra eats lots of seconds and so do I. Everyone looks happy that I'm eating more and they also look like they're glad I'm opening up more. I honestly think that joining their crew might not be so bad.

"That was so so so good!" Ezra rubs his full stomach. Sabine and Hera gather the plates.

"I'm glad you liked it," Hera says, proud of her cooking.

"It was good," I say to her.

"I know it means a lot to you," Hera smiles.

"I like it here," I admit aloud, blushing after I say so.

"So you do like being around others!" Ezra exclaims.

"I guess," I blush more.

"How about you go to bed, you've still got bags under your eyes," Sabine suggests after putting the dishes to wash.

"Yeah," I say, holding back a yawn.

"You can shower in the morning," Kanan says. "We can talk later."

"About what? I'm going now, good night," I stand and leave before anyone can question me.

"Night," everyone says as I leave the room.

 _This place is pretty cozy. I wonder if I could fit in._ I smile to myself, realizing that I found a place to call home. I snuggle the blanket and fall asleep. I don't sleep peacefully this night.

* * *

 _ **"What are you doing here?" a hissing voice asks me.**_

 _ **"Loth-rats aren't allowed. GET OUTTA OF HERE!" another loud voice shouts.**_

 _ **I feel myself wince and cower in pain as someone kicks my side.**_

 _ **"Makes a pretty good punching bag, for a rat." The hissing voice laughs, loud and low.**_

 _ **Even more kicks and punches hit my back, legs and arms as I curl into a ball. I hear a loud crack in the air. I look up to see where the noise is coming from. A whip, it has some weird static surrounding it too. I look at the holder and see evil in his eyes. I'm frightened, scared for what's coming.**_

 _ **Someone lifts me up and the whip snaps again. I feel something hit my leg and then my stomach and finally my cheek. The final blow ends with electricity coursing through the wound. I feel blood running down the long cuts the electric whip left.**_

 _ **"I've got a drink for you," the louder voice laughs.**_

 _ **I hear water in a large jug and someone unscrewing a cap. I knew the whip was still around my neck, I can feel the electricity and knew what they were trying to do. I stand up to run but my legs buckle and I collapse. My heart races and I feel tears coming to my eyes. I see the open jug in front of my face and the water beginning to pour out. The pain is indescribable. I hate this feeling. The electric whip had already sent electricity throughout my body but the sensation when the water was added onto it, was unbearable.**_

* * *

I wake up in a cold sweat. I sit up and look around the room, still frightened by my dream. I trace the scar on my cheek; the jagged line feels like it's burning my skin. I hiss in pain. The clock says it's only 3 am. I look at Sabine, still asleep, I sigh with relief that I didn't wake her. I groan in pain as the other scars on me start to burn up. I curl up in a ball at the head of the bed and start to whimper. I try to catch my breath but I can't immediately. My throat is dry again and I still feel the pain of the whip and electricity. I whine again and dig my nails into my arms. I hear the doors slide open and look up to see who it is.

Kanan stands there, looking panicked and worried. I hadn't realized that tears have started to stream down my face; I wipe my eyes and look at him. I hear more footsteps and see Ezra run into Kanan at the doorway. They look at me and Kanan walks over to the bed. I feel my muscles tighten out of habit and my tears start flow more. Ezra looks concerned as well but he stands at the doorway, not knowing what to do. I shove my head between my knees, as Kanan gets closer. He sits on the edge of the bed and pulls my balled up form closer to him. I feel warm arms around me and I start to uncurl. I look at Kanan's face and see that he is trying his best to comfort me. I bury my face in his chest and slowly stop crying. Ezra strides over and rubs my back. I stop crying altogether and the burning subsides to a low numbness.

"You okay?" Kanan asks me quietly.

"Fine," I lie.

"Liar," Ezra mumbles, seeing right through me.

Kanan lifts me in his arms and carries me to the lounge. Ezra hands me a cup with water in it. I reject the glass, remembering my dream. Ezra looks at Kanan confused. Kanan replies with a shrug.

"Do you need a drink?" Ezra asks.

"Juice," I mumble.

"Right," Ezra leaves the room quietly.

"What happened?" Kanan asks as he starts to rub my back.

"Nothing," I reply, leaning into his warmth.

"What did you dream about?" Kanan ventures further, knowing that this is a touchy subject.

"Things," I avoid the topic as Ezra hands me a glass with apple juice in it.

"Everyone gets nightmares," Ezra tells me, "It's normal if you're scared."

"How'd you guys wake up?" I sip on the juice, the cold liquid soothing my dry throat.

"Your pain was transmitted to us through the Force. It's tough to explain," Kanan says.

"Most things are," I lick my cracked lips.

"You think you can go back to sleep?" Kanan asks me.

I look at him with fear in my eyes and shake my head 'no', multiple times.

"Why not?"

"Scared." I set down the now empty glass.

"If you bunk with me will you be scared?" Kanan tries to help me get back to sleep.

"Maybe," I mumble.

"Then we'll try this, you sleep on the top bunk of my room and if you feel frightened you can climb down to my bed," Kanan comforts me.

"Okay."

"Ezra, you can go back to your cabin," Kanan sends his padawan back to his room

"Good night," Ezra says to us and leaves.

"Follow me," Kanan guides me to his room.

"Thanks," I say and climb up to the top bunk.

"Not a problem," Kanan goes to sleep.

I do too, thankfully, not dreaming anything for the rest of the night.

* * *

I wake up to something rocking me back and forth. I open my eyes and see Kanan rocking me. I rub my eyes and sit up.

"Breakfast," he tells me.

"Do I shower?" I ask as I climb down from the top.

"If you like, you were sweating a bunch last night," he notes.

I look at him with an expression that asks 'are you going to tell the others?'

"No. I've asked Ezra not to say anything either," Kanan reassures me.

"Thanks," I hug him and see he's holding a new set of clothes for me to wear.

"Go shower and get changed," he smiles at me.

"Yeah," I hurry to the shower and notice Chopper charging, Zeb and Ezra are still asleep, Hera is making breakfast and Sabine is helping her.

"Good morning!" Sabine says as I pass through on my way to the shower.

"Mornin'!" I reply happily.

"Breakfast is almost ready," Hera tells me, "Sabine, can you wake up those two sleepyheads?"

"Sure," Sabine answers with a laugh and leaves to wake up Ezra and Zeb.

I laugh and leave the room. The bathroom looks the same but the dirty clothes in the basket are gone. I lock the door, strip and hop in the shower. The warm water even more relaxing than it was a couple days ago. I end my wash quickly because I smell eggs and bacon from behind the door.

"I sure am bony," I look at my figure in the mirror. I don't exactly look like skin and bones but I do look like I need more food. I still have small dark circles because of my nightmare and there are nail marks from when I squeezed my arms. I trace the scar on my stomach for a minute and snap out of my trance. I get changed into the clothes Kanan gave me. They look like Ezra's. The top is a short-sleeved shirt and solid blue. The pants look like they were torn off from a jumpsuit. I toss my pajamas into the hamper and put my necklace and shoes on. My hair looks like it's not so tangled but I tie it up anyways.

I walk into the lounge and see everyone sitting at the booth. There are steaming plates of bacon and eggs for each of us, excluding Chopper. I smile and sit next to Ezra who is looking at his plate hungrily. After I sit, we all start to eat. I can't remember the last time I had bacon, or a breakfast.

"Seconds?" Hera asks me.

"No thanks," I drink my juice, still not used to eating so much.

"I'm guessing you won't want lunch?" Ezra speculates.

"We'll find out later," I say.

"Right," Ezra says with a sarcastic tone.

Ezra has a few more helpings and Hera puts the plates in the dishwasher after everyone's done. I stretch in my seat and sigh happily.

"What are we gonna be doing today?" Ezra asks eagerly.

"Kanan, Zeb and Chopper are going into town to look for work for us," Hera says, "We could use the credits."

"Why can't we go?" I ask.

"Because you two-," Sabine points to Ezra and me, "-are going to help me fix the hover-bike."

"Fine," Ezra says stubbornly.

"Good," Hera says with a smile, "Now you three hurry up and get us some work."

"Right," Kanan says leaving with Chopper and Zeb behind him.

* * *

~a few hours later~

Ezra is sitting on top of the stack of crates on the left side of the cargo bay; I'm sitting on the crate one step below him. Sabine is on the hover-bike and Hera is holding onto Sabine's shoulder so she doesn't slip, I think. The ramp is open and I can smell the Loth-wolves from yesterday. I look up and see Ezra tossing his helmet in front of him. I jump up and slip my head into the helmet when he throws it up.

"Hey!" Ezra shouts playfully and takes the helmet off my head.

"Where'd you get it?" I ask him, smiling.

"I have a few ways," Ezra smiles mischievously and continues to toss the red and white helmet.

Zeb and Chopper soon come up the ramp and Kanan follows them. Chopper is yelling angrily at Zeb who looks ashamed about something.

"Hi," Zeb says holding up his hands, "I can explain."

"Explain what?" Hera asks.

"Hera, Sabine, Ezra, Cleo. This is Lando Calrissian,-" Kanan gestures towards the man trailing behind him, "-he needs a fast ship to move some cargo past the Imperial blockade of Lothal."

"Yes," Lando agrees, "for some reason this planet has an unusually large Imperial presence."

I look at his suspiciously and make it obvious to the others that he bugs me, Ezra seeming wary of Lando, too. Kanan smiles nervously and scratches the back of his head. Hera squints her eyes and studies Lando carefully.

"But are you sure you can get this vessel past the blockade," Lando questions Hera while gesturing around him, "Captain Hera, is it?"

"It is," Hera says with her arms crossed, "and the _Ghost_ can mask both its signal and signature, we'll get you past the blockade. What's the cargo?"

I sigh and realize that this would be my first mission with this crew. _I haven't worked in a team in years. I wonder if my corporation skills are rusty?_ I snigger thinking about everything that could go wrong.

"I was told no questions asked," Lando says smugly.

"That's fine, it just costs more," Hera counters.

"Kanan and _I_ already settled on a price, but I assume he requires your approval," Lando says sarcastically.

"He doesn't," Hera notes.

"Excellent," Lando smiles and shakes Kanan's hand, "When the job's done you'll be paid handsomely and as agreed I'll return your droid."

"What? Droid? _Return_ _?_ " I look sideways at Zeb.

"Return our droid?" Hera repeats surprised. Chopper hits Zeb on the leg with his mechanical arm and beeps a sentence. Hera pushes him back so Zeb can speak.

"Uh, yeah," Zeb admits, "Funny story, you see Lando and I were playing Sabacc 'n I kinda bet Chopper."

Ezra, Hera and Sabine's expressions all change to surprise and Hera's a bit angry.

"Garazeb Orrelios!" Hera shouts furiously, "Chopper wasn't yours to bet!"

"What do you call that?" I whisper to Ezra, pointing to Hera's expression.

"Huh?" Ezra looks at me and takes his eyes off the argument, "Oh that? That's Hera's mother-mode. Sorta. It happens whenever someone in the crew gets hurt, sick or what's happened to Chopper today."

"Mother-mode?" I ask with a confused look on my face.

"Seriously?" Ezra sighs, "It's when Hera turns into an overprotective person, like a mother would be protective of her child. Therefore the word 'mother-mode'," Ezra smiles and looks back at Hera who is now starting to yell at Kanan.

Hera turns to Kanan with her eyebrows furrowed in anger, "And you should know better, Chopper is a valuable member of this crew!" Hera stands before Kanan and sets him straight, Kanan putting his palms in front of his chest.

"Whoa,whoa, whoa. We should go, I need to pick up my cargo and I don't want to keep my squire waiting. Besides, if all goes well there won't be anything for you good people to argue about," Lando points out to get Hera to stop yelling.

Hera looks at Kanan with her enraged expression and punches him, not saying a word. She grumbles a bit and walks back up. Kanan shrugs his shoulders at Lando.

We all go up the ladder and Hera, Kanan, Lando and Chopper walk into the doors opposite from the doors that lead to the lounge. I flick Ezra's neck and he turns around, annoyed.

"What?" he asks me.

"What's that?" I point towards the area with all the controls that manage the ship. There's a big bubbly looking glass too, Hera's sitting on the left chair and doing something. Kanan sits on the right, Lando in the chair behind Hera and Chopper in the isle next to Lando.

"The cockpit, where the controls to fly the ship are. Now come on or we're gonna miss something." Ezra tugs me in the direction of the lounge as I doze off while looking at all the switches in the cockpit.

I feel the ship take off from the ground and we end up in space faster than I thought possible. Zeb, Ezra and I wait in the lounge until we arrive somewhere. _Where are we even going?_ I sigh and rest my head on the table, knowing that my jaw is going to be sore later on. Zeb sits in the big wooden chair and Ezra next to me on the booth. After we jump into hyperspace I look at Ezra sideways. Ezra sighs and tells me what just happened.

"We're traveling through hyperspace," he explains to me simply.

I don't really understand but I'll ask Hera later. I nod to tell Ezra that I understood but really I don't. Lando walks in and Chopper hands him a coffee cup. Lando thanks 'his droid' and drinks his coffee.

"I can't believe that bolt-bucket is actually waiting on that guy," Zeb complains.

"I can't believe you lost Chopper," Ezra teases, "Good think I wasn't there, you'd of bet me." Ezra points to himself.

"Naw," I join in, "He probably would'a bet the both of us." I raise my head from the table and smile.

Zeb grumbles for a while, "Hmm. Nah. You guys wouldn't have covered the part. Besides I think Calrissian cheater." Zeb whispers, irked.

"I bet you're just a sore loser," I comment.

"Yeah, Lando seems nice enough," Ezra nods and agrees with me.

"I'm tellin' you, I don't like the guy." Zeb whispers again and gestures towards Lando. Who is checking out Sabine's painting with Sabine walking up to him to explain it? Maybe.

I look at Ezra who is looking at Lando and Sabine. I giggle to myself and see that Ezra's mighty jealous and maybe even mad.

Ezra stands and waves his hand at Sabine, "Hey, I told you your art was good months ago."

"Yeah but you didn't know why," Sabine retorts, crossing her arms.

"Oh please, that's hardly fair. He's just a child with no experience of the galaxy," Lando says with his long drawn out tone.

"He does know that he doesn't know us, right?" I ask Zeb quietly. He shrugs in reply, covering his mouth to keep from laughing at Ezra.

Ezra looks even madder now. Sabine invites Lando to look at more of her works and they leave. Ezra says angrily, "I don't like that guy."

I laugh so much that my stomach starts to hurt. "You sure do get envious easily, Ezra." I laugh again.

"Right," Ezra says sarcastically, "Well at least I'm the first to make you laugh out loud." Ezra brags to Zeb.

"True, true. But you still haven't learned everything about me," I say.

"What percentage do I know about you?" Ezra asks, trying to provoke me.

"You know about 14% of me. Kanan knows 22%, Zeb 11%, Hera 7%, Chopper 6% and Sabine knows 19%." I look at him proudly.

"I'm in third place!" Ezra says loudly.

"If you hadn't gotten knocked out during the meeting you would be in 1st." I say quietly to myself.

"What was that?" Zeb asks.

"Nothing!" I say. I know Zeb heard me. His Lasat ears are way better than Ezra's. Zeb is now at 12%. _Maybe I_ should _keep track of this. Like a competition I'm hosting without the contestants knowing._ I giggle again.

"What's so funny?" Ezra inquires.

"Nothin'." I smile again.

* * *

I hear the _Ghost_ exit hyperspace. We docked on an old, worn out ship. It was a dusty and muddy brown with small white lights on the outside. Zeb left a few minutes after docking. I look at Ezra in question; in return he shrugs his shoulders and heads towards the cargo bay, I follow him closely. I hear the Ghost detach from the rusty ship and hear footsteps heading to the cockpit. With my sensitive ears I can hear Lando's, Sabine's, Zeb's and Kanan's footsteps. I listen harder and don't hear Hera's steps. _What happened? Where's Hera? I'm pretty sure I heard her get off the_ Ghost _…_ I sigh knowing that something bad probably happened. Ezra looks at me sideways. I shake my head in an exhausted manner and he works on the bike from earlier. Soon after Lando, Zeb, Chopper, Sabine and Kanan enter the cargo bay with a white box that's hovering above the floor. I look for Hera and don't see her. Ezra stops fiddling with the bike and leans on the box with both hands.

"What's in here?" he asks with a cynical look on his face.

"Weapons?" I guess, equally confused. I look at the sides of the box and try to sniff it. An old habit from when I lived with the Loth-wolves.

"Sophisticated mining equipment," Lando answers Ezra's question and turns off the hover.

The crate shakes back and forth, a snort escaping from it. I look at Ezra with a puzzled expression. He bends down and stands back up.

"Uhh. Sounds like your sophisticated mining equipment is snoring," Ezra states the obvious and crosses his arms, unconvinced.

"Just don't open the box," Lando backs towards the ladder that goes up, "and whatever you do, keep it calm." Lando leaves up the ladder. Chopper says something else and follows Lando. Sabine and Kanan leave to pilot the ship and wait for Hera.

Ezra and Zeb look at the box with a doubtful look on their faces. The box snorts again and Ezra and Zeb exchange a similar idea.

"You're not gonna listen to him are you?" I ask, knowing the answer.

I hear Hera come back aboard in an escape pod and the _Ghost_ jump to hyperspace again.

"Calrissian said not to open it," Ezra says with a dangerous tone.

"Yeah," Zeb says with the same tone, "He did." Zeb clicks a few buttons on the side of the crate and the front slides up.

I inch towards to opening and hear the snorting noise again. After a few seconds, a sand colored pig with spots and gray horns exits the crate. I soon recognize the creature as a Puffer pig. I smile in joy of meeting a new creature.

"Uhh. Kinda cute?" Ezra says hesitantly.

"I like it!" I sit in front of it, "If it wasn't cargo I'd might keep it."

Zeb bends down and sniffs the squealing pig. Apparently scaring it with his massive structure and grumpy face, the Puffer pig begins to back away and squeals more. The pig soon runs off and up the ladder.

"Let's hurry and catch the guy!" I yell at Ezra and Zeb, running after the pig.

The ladder leads to the cockpit and Kanan turns towards us, hearing the sudden snorts of the pig. I ignore his confused stares and chase after the Puffer pig. Ezra smiles nervously and continues to run, Zeb right after him. We run past Lando, Hera and Sabine who are walking out of the corridor that leads to one of the two airlocks. The pig makes a u-turn at the ladder between the two airlock corridors and runs into Zeb. I use the ladder and rotate myself and hear Ezra fall as he tries to do the same. Zeb catches the pig and holds it up. Scaring it more, remembering Lando's warning I snatch the pig out of his hands. I look at it and see fear in its eyes. Not knowing what to do, I act like it's a baby Loth-wolf and try to calm it down. It seems to work well.

"WHAT is going on here?" Kanan asks furiously.

"It's a…Puffer-," Ezra tries to explain but gets cut off by Kanan.

"I don't wanna know," Kanan turns back to the cockpit.

"At least you didn't scare her," Lando says.

"Woah!" I look out the bubble glass of the cockpit. The starts are blurred and the sky is different shades of blue.

"That's right," Hera stands next to me, "You've never seen hyperspace."

"So cool!" I say in awe and adjust the way I hold the Puffer pig.

Lando says something about smuggling mining equipment a week ago but I don't pay attention. We exit hyperspace and there are a few star destroyers. I look at Kanan and he sighs.

"We can't mask the _Ghost_ 's signature without Chopper fixing it," Hera says as two TIEs follow the _Ghost_.

"Now you're catching on," Lando says and bends down to Chopper, "Alright my little friend, would you like to be a hero and fix it for me?"

Chopper replies in his droid language and wheels back to fix it. The screen to the left of Kanan turns blue.

"Signature modulator's back online. And just on time," Kanan notes.

"What's that?" I point my nose in the direction of the star destroyers.

"Star destroyers." Ezra says, "they belong to the Empire."

"Oh," I say softly, remembering what Kanan had told me about the person in the white armor.

I hear a scuffling noise behind me. I turn around and see Zeb backing into me. I squeak as the heavy Lasat trips onto me. I manage to toss the Puffer pig onto the chair to Kanan's right but Zeb's weigh pushes me onto the control panel. My hand press a few buttons and a loud alarm sounds throughout the ship. Zeb gets off me and looks at Kanan. The screen that was blue turns yellow and the Empire must have found out that our signature was masked. They send out more TIEs and I start to feel worried. Hera tells Kanan to go into the clouds for cover, Sabine already getting rid of a few TIEs earlier. Kanan shoots down the rest of the TIEs in the clouds and we land back on Lothal.

* * *

We leave the _Ghost_ and onto Lando's land. He says he bought it from a guy named Vizago.

"Can we keep her calm this time, guys?" I tease Ezra and Zeb and set the Puffer pig onto the ground.

"It's not my fault," Zeb tries to brush off the blame.

"No, it's your face's fault," Ezra says quickly.

I laugh and punch Ezra on the shoulder. He yelps in pain and rubs where I hit him.

"Sorry!" I say, "I forgot to control my power output…"

"S'fine." Ezra smiles and continues to walk.

"We're done here," Kanan says to Lando, "now pay us."

"He has other debts to pay!" a voice says from behind a crate. A Jablogian walk out, he looks kinda big.

 _Maybe he eats too much._ I snort, trying to keep my laughter inside me. The Jablogian has dark pink, wrinkly skin and is wearing a white shirt with a puffy green color. His pants are gray and his shoes blue. I look around and see gray human-looking droids with blasters pointing at us appear.

"Azmorigan?" Lando looks at the Jablogian, apparently knowing who the guy was.

"Did you forget that I introduce you to Vizago?" Azmorigan points a small blaster at us, "I knew where you were headed."

"But your ship, you couldn't have hidden it anywhere close. Did you walk here? You don't walk anywhere!" Lando answers his own question.

"Well I do what's necessary to claim my property, Calrissian." Azmorigan says rudely.

"What do you even want?" I ask curiously.

"My demands are simple, I want my pig back and you. Plus this ship and this crew as compensation for my sore feet! But first, I want to bury Calrissian!" he replies and steps closer.

"Someone's got a grudge," I say sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah. I understand the feeling, but no," Hera says, pulling me towards her.

"Now wait, let's consider that last demand," Kanan jokes.

"I've run out of patience!" the Jablogian shouts, enraged.

He holds up his gun and starts to fire. Zeb pulls out his bo-rifle and shoots back, the droids also raining fire on the crew, though, with terrible aim. I duck down and cling to the first thing I touch, which happens to be Hera's arm. Hera shouts something and Sabine and Zeb break off while the rest of us duck behind crates. I shut my eyes and run while sticking to Hera's arm. I hate the sound of gunfire. I curl up once I sit behind a crate with Hera and Lando. Ezra and Kanan are across us. Kanan is using his blaster. Ezra pulls out his lightsaber but Kanan slams him against the crate. They exchange words and Ezra ends up having a blaster attached to his lightsaber. Sabine takes out more of the droids and Zeb somehow ends up hostage to Azmorigan. Chopper shoots behind them and knocks Zeb and Azmorigan over, allowing Zeb to put Azmorigan at gunpoint. I sigh with relief that the blasts have ended and focus on catching my breath.

"Our terms this time," Hera says, "you and your men leave and we let you live. Start walking."

Azmorigan grumbles and starts walking, Zeb kicking him on the back. The two remaining droids soon run after him. Hera says something to Lando and gets Chopper back but something about Lando owing her one. I stand to leave with the others back to the _Ghost_. I take a step and my leg buckles underneath me. I grumble and lean on a nearby crate. Kanan turns around and sees me struggling and jogs over.

"You need a little help, kid?" he holds out his hand to help me.

"I'm fine," I say stubbornly.

"You are one of the worst liars in the galaxy," Kanan laughs quietly.

"Shut up," I say and duck my head, taking his hand. Kanan wraps my arm around his neck and helps me to the _Ghost_.

"Are you injured?" Kanan asks me as he escorts me up the ramp.

"No," I mutter. I hear the ramp fold up and something about Chopper stealing fuel.

"I want you in the med-bay just in case," Kanan smiles and looks towards Hera.

"Don't you dare!" I shout at him.

"I do dare," Kanan continues to smile, "Hey, Hera!"

"Yeah?" Hera turns around and sees me hanging onto Kanan, "My stars! What's wrong with you?" Hera runs to me and looks me over.

"Nothing!" I squirm out of Kanan and Hera's grip. I gasp and feel my legs start to give out again.

"What are you doing?" Kanan sighs, "You can't even stand." He helps me up and supports me by wrapping my arm around his neck again.

"What's up over here?" Ezra looks at the fuss that I was making.

"NOTHING," I say while gritting my teeth.

"Right," Ezra says unconvinced, "Kanan holding you up to stand is nothing."

"Fine, so it's something," I admit slightly, "but still, you don't have to worry."

"Right," Hera says, "Med-bay, _now_." She points towards the area of the med-bay.

"Come on, kid, let's get you checked out," Kanan carries me up the ladder and into the med-bay."

* * *

"Why do I even need to do this?" I ask as Kanan sets me on the exam table.

"Because, everyone does," Kanan says, "Besides, I bet you have too many old injuries that are long overdue a checkup."

"I'm not wearing anything underneath this," I say truthfully.

"Then I'll have Sabine and Hera come in here," Kanan leaves the room.

I wait quietly for a few minutes, listening to the engine running quietly. After a while Hera and Sabine walk in. Hera looks worried and Sabine looks concerned. I look to the side and try to avoid their gaze.

Hera breaks the silence first, "Here put this on," she tosses me a bra, "You're not wearing one right? You can keep it."

I nod and they turn around to try giving me privacy. I take off the borrowed shirt and slip on the bra. It was surprisingly an almost perfect fit. I look at Sabine and Hera's turned backs and wonder if I should take off the pants.

"Do I take off the pants too?" I ask them.

Hera thinks for a while and responds, "Yes, but you can leave your underwear and bra on."

"Okay," I sigh and shimmy my feet out of the pant legs. Feeling slightly embarrassed I sit back on the table, "I'm done," I say in a small voice. I look at my thighs as they turn around. I remember how I looked this morning in the mirror. I trace the whip scar on my leg unconsciously. I flinch when I hear Hera gasp as she looks at me. They'd only ever seen me in pants, shorts and a shirt so it's no surprise when they react shocked. I feel warm arms surround me and I look up. Hera's hugging me tightly and Sabine is getting some bandages from the cabinet. I feel tears welling up in my eyes; I had forgotten what it felt like to be loved. I think I'm starting to remember. I lift my arms and hug Hera back, she rubs my back soothingly but I wince when she touches a few cuts.

Hera stops hugging me and looks me in the eyes, "Will you let us look you over now?"

I nod and blink away the tears starting to collect in my eyes. Sabine approaches me with a cotton balls and a brown-tinted bottle. The scent of the liquid escaping the open bottle reeks terribly. I cover my nose in disgust.

"What's wrong?" Sabine asks me confused.

"That stuff smells funny," I pinch my nose.

"It's rubbing alcohol, to clean your cuts," Sabine wets a cotton ball and starts to rub the soaked cotton against the scrapes on my legs. I blink at her and she looks up at me, "It doesn't sting?"

"No," I shake my head, "is it supposed to?"

"For some people," Sabine goes back to dabbing the cotton against my legs.

"It just means you have a high pain tolerance," Hera explains as she wipes my back with a wet rag.

"What are you doin'?" I peek over my shoulder at Hera.

"Cleaning your back," Hera smiles and says in a motherly tone, "You didn't do a very good job."

"Meh," I shrug my shoulders in indifference.

"I'm done here," Sabine stands when she finishes cleaning the few cuts on my legs, "where are the band-aids?"

"Over there," Hera points towards a box on the counter.

"Luckily, you don't have to many injuries on your legs," Sabine says, "Just tons of scars."

"Anyone who's been on the streets has got scars," I reply simply.

"So," Hera says slowly, "Sabine says that she invited you to join our crew."

"Yeah," I nod my head, "I haven't decided yet."

"Stay," Hera says.

"What?" I ask bewildered.

"Stay," Hera repeats and sets the wet towel on the counter. She picks up more cotton and wets them with rubbing alcohol.

"You want me to stay with you guys?" I ask again.

"Well, it seems that some of the crew rather enjoys your company. Ezra seems to like having someone younger than him here, too." Hera rubs the cotton against the scabs that I had reopened.

"How old do you think I am?"

"12," Sabine replies and cleans the nicks on my arms.

"Wrong!" I say in a low gaming voice, "I'm 14." I say proudly.

"I wasn't that off!" Sabine notes her excuse.

"Right," I say sarcastically.

"So are you joining?" Sabine asks again.

"I dunno," I sigh, "I think I'll just get in the way if I join."

"You won't," Hera denies my statement.

"If you didn't notice earlier, I'm pretty useless. I'm scared of blasters, explosions and any similar," I says loudly.

"But somehow you're not scared of Loth-wolves," Hera tries to contradict my uselessness.

"I grew up with them being nice to me," I note, "most creatures are really nice."

"You didn't have a problem with Ezra showing you his lightsaber," Sabine remembers.

"I don't have any idea why I wasn't scared of that one," I think hard, "it just didn't terrify me."

"Why not?" Hera begins to wrap bandages around my stomach so they can hold up the bandages on my back.

"The lightsaber kinda gave off a safe maybe comforting vibe. It's hard to explain," I groan in frustration.

"Maybe you should tell Kanan," Hera suggests, finishing with the bandages.

"I will," I reassure Hera.

"We're done patching you up," Hera inspects the rest of my body, "Think you can stand?"

"Let's find out," I inhale and exhale a wavery breath.

"We're right here to catch you if you fall," Sabine reassures me.

I nod my head in an understanding motion and get ready to set my feet on the floor. I slide off the table slowly and let my feet get used to touching ground. I lift my feet up slightly in a marching motion. I decide to take a step forwards and feel my knees waver but not give in. My breath catches in my throat as I do so. I warily walk around the table with Sabine and Hera on either side of me.

"I think I'm good," I say and reach for my clothes.

"If you ever feel something wrong again make sure to tell us," Hera says in her motherly tone again.

"Mhhm," I mumble as I slip the shirt on. I step into the pants and leave the med-bay.

* * *

 **That took a while. If it was still short then sorry!**

 **I'm not good with character build up either so sorry for that too. Review if you want because I SUCK! Anyways, I'll write next chapter whenever I have the time to.**


	4. Chapter 4: Visions or Dreams

**Hey I'm back! This will be a short chapter because I'm busy and got grounded. HAHAHAHAHH…. Here ya go…**

 **Edit: 7-7-18**

 **The Loth-wolf changes are being made. Very slowly. Also the updates, very slow. Frustrating I know.**

* * *

I walk out the med-bay and into the lounge and sit down for a while, my legs still throbbing. I sigh and rub my knee, which is in the most pain.

"I'm sure that you're still hurt but I'm not going to ask," Kanan puts his hand on his hips and looks at me in a concerned manner.

"Am I really that bad of a liar?" I tilt my head and give a fake laugh.

"No, I can tell you're in pain through the Force," Kanan sits on the stool in front of me.

"So that's how you knew I was having a nightmare!" I say with sudden realization.

"Yes, would you like something to eat?" Kanan asks.

"No, I can't handle too much food right now," I smile.

"It's late, do you need help getting to your bed?" Kanan glances towards Sabine's cabin.

"No, I'm fine, I promise." I shake my head.

"That's what everyone says," Kanan says softly.

"What time is it?"

"Late, almost everyone's asleep."

There's a silent pause when I hesitate to tell Kanan about that feeling from the lightsaber.

"Kanan?" I fiddle my fingers on my lap.

"Yeah?"

"Are lightsabers supposed to give off a warm-ish kinda happy feeling?" I try to put the sensation I felt when I saw Ezra's lightsaber into words.

"Some of them do, it depends on who's using them." Kanan says.

"Oh," I mummer, "I'm going to bed now, so I'll see you in the morning." I stand, wobbling a little.

"You sure you're okay?" Kanan stands with me.

"Positive." I try to get Kanan off my back.

"Do you want to sleep in my bunk tonight, in case you have another nightmare?" Kanan insists on keeping an eye on me.

"Sure," I sigh and give into Kanan's worrying.

Kanan nods with satisfaction and heads towards his room with me following him closely. The doors open and we walk into the room, Kanan tells me that I can sleep on the bottom bunk, as long as I don't touch any of his personal items. I give a silent nod and slip under the sheets.

"Good night," Kanan says to me as he climbs to the top.

"'Nite." I reply and snuggle under the sheets.

Luckily the nightmares don't bother me this time. The dreams confuse me though.

* * *

 _ **"What beauty! What color! What skill!" a male voice echoes throughout my vision. In front of me is a white desk with splats of paint and colored pencils and crayons spilled across its surface. Further from the table stands a man I recognize to be my dad. He has a giant grin on his face and he's holding a piece of paper with colorful scribbles on it. He shows it to my mom, standing next to him. She smiles even brighter than him.**_

 _ **The scene fades into a field. I'm in a damp, mud cave. Loth-pups are playing pretend fighting, rolling and tossing up grass. I scramble out and start to play with them too. The older Loth-wolves watch happily from the sidelines and keep a careful watch on us.**_

 _ **The scene changes again. To something unfamiliar but the setting is familiar. I'm on the Ghost, in** **the lounge. Everyone is gathered around the table, playing a holo-game. Ezra is furious that he's losing but still smiling, Sabine is studying the board with extreme concentration, Zeb is snoring in the wooden chair, Kanan is laughing, Chopper is beeping happy comments and Hera looks to be enjoying the game.**_

 _ **The area changes again and this time I'm laying down on a roof. Looking at the clouds, I hear Ezra mumbling to my right and Kanan scolding him. I stand and see that at my waist is a handle, similar to the one Kanan has for his lightsaber. I take the handle in my hand and hold it in front of me. A sound starts to ring out before I turn it on; I look around for the source. It sounds like a large clack of pots getting smashed against each other. Everything goes black.**_

* * *

I wake up facing a wall, the loud clacking coming from behind me. I roll to see who's making such a racket. It's Chopper, running into the side of the bed.

"What are you doing?" I sit up and rub my eyes, the bandages irritating my skin.

"Breakfast." Chopper warbles irritated and rolls out of the room.

"That droid needs a personality check," I say to myself.

"You're awake!" Ezra strolls into my room, looking ragged and tired.

"Yes, how long have you been up?" I slide out of bed and stretch my legs.

"Just woke up, Chopper shocked me." Ezra says angrily.

"Really? He woke me up by running into the bed." I say.

"That unfair!" Ezra exclaims.

"Maybe," I snort and look at my arms, the white bandages now slightly bloody.

"I guess you need to change bandages, follow me, I can get Hera to change them." Ezra takes me by my wrist and drags me to the lounge.

"Cleo! You're awake!" Sabine says happily.

"Yes, why are you guys so happy that I'm awake?" I ask confused.

"Because we were worried about you," Hera walks in, "You need new bandages, I'll change them."

I follow Hera to the med-bay and take off my shirt and shorts. I start to unwrap the bandages from my arms while Hera replaces the bandaids they used for my smaller cuts. It takes a while to take off all the wrappings but when I finished I have a ball of white and red. I toss the ball into the trashcan next to the door.

"It doesn't look like you'll need any new bandages, most of the reopened cuts have turned into scabs. Just make sure not to scratch." Hera looks me over.

"M'kay," I nod gladly, bandages are mainly itchy and are too big of a hassle.

"Breakfast?" Hera smiles at me.

"Definitely." I walk to the lounge and sit next to Kanan.

We walk to the lounge and Hera flips a couple pancakes onto our plates. She goes to the kitchen and returns with a small bowl of mashed potatoes. Hera sets the bowl in front of me and smiles, "It's your favorite right? We had some left." Hera sits in her seat and starts to eat her pancakes. I smile and dig in, Ezra almost done with his meal.

* * *

 _ **"Hey sleepyhead. You know that you will have to eat something sometime, right?"**_ I pause for a moment, remembering something from the past. _**"Hey Miss Sleepy. I got something for you."** _ A picture of a steamy bowl of fluffy mashed potatoes flashes across my vision. _**"Eat up!"**_

* * *

I blink and the voices and pictures fade away. I look around and see everyone still eating their breakfast, aside from Ezra who finished and Hera who was serving him more. I sigh and start eating again.

"You okay kid?" Kanan patted my shoulder.

"M'fine." I smile and push away the memory that flashed across my eyes.

"Sure." Kanan says sarcastically.

"Hey Kanan!" Ezra mumbles through a mouth of pancakes.

"Talk after you swallow," Kanan says.

Ezra chokes down the chunks of pancakes, "I was wondering if we were doing Jedi training today."

"Yes, so hurry and finish your food," Kanan says after finishing off his last pancake.

"Is Cleo gonna join?" Ezra finishes his drink.

"If she wants she can watch." Kanan looks at me. I think for a minute. Maybe I should join. It sounds enjoyable and I might be able to see some of my friends again or tell Kanan about that dream thing. It was actually pretty realistic… I nod my head yes and gulp down the rest of my meal, my stomach and jaw protesting the excess food.

"Lets go outside, Ezra bring your helmet. Sabine, Zeb and Chopper will be shooting. And if she wants Cleo can shoot too." Kanan stands and collects everyone's empty plates.

"Awesome! Shooting at Ezra! I'll go get my gear." Sabine rushes off to her cabin.

"This is going to be enjoyable," Zeb smiles and walks outside with Chopper following.

"Cleo?" Kanan glances at me.

"Eehh," I say, "I'm not very good with shooting."

"Wrong," Kanan sets down the dishes in the sink. "You're just not good with the people behind the blasters. And the people behind these blasters are your friends."

I sigh, "Fine, I'll try. But if-"

Kanan finishes my sentence, "But if you get scared at any time you can stop. I promise you that if you get scared I'm always here, everyone is."

I nod my head in acceptance. Kanan hands me his blaster and shows me how to use it. We head outside, to an open dirt patch and Kanan sets a trooper helmet on a rock.

"Ezra, you're going to be practicing deflecting the blasts to this target." Kanan pats the helmet. "Start whenever you're ready."

Ezra smiles and pulls down his helmet, "I got this." He turns on his lightsaber and his helmet shields his eyesight.

Zeb fires the first shot and I feel an urge to duck and cover. I stay on my feet and aim Kanan's blaster at Ezra. I hear Chopper and Sabine fire some more energy at him. I wince as I pull the trigger and Ezra dodges my shot. I let out a wavery breath and steady my hand and continue shooting, slowly. Ezra dodges most of everyone's shots but deflects some but not at the target. I loose my breath when one whizzes past my arm. I drop Kanan's blaster in surprise and jump backwards.

"You okay?" Kanan asks me.

"I'm fine." I pick up the blaster and continue shooting.

"If you say so." Kanan focuses his attention on Ezra who is doing a terrible job deflecting the blasts to the target.

After a while of Ezra dodging and terrible deflecting the energy blasts Kanan waves his hand for us to stop. "You've got the blocking down, for the most part, but you shouldn't randomly deflect the energy every which way. You have _yet_ to hit the target I gave you."

"Yet," Ezra say, "keyword is yet." Ezra ducks below a few more blasts.

Kanan sighs and puts his hand over his eyes in frustration. He waves both his hands in the air to get everyone to stop. I feel the hand I was holding the gun in go numb and the blaster drops out of my hand again. I crouch to the floor and calm my breathing. Kanan walks over to Ezra.

"You're distracted, impatient. What's your rush?" Kanan crosses his arms.

Ezra lifts the eye shield on his helmet. "I don't want to miss Senator Trayvis's transmission."

"You don't even know if he'll transmit today." Kanan points out.

"He's been on more frequencies lately and I have a feeling. Today's the day." Ezra says stubbornly.

"Well!" Kanan begins sarcastically, "I have a feeling you're gonna get stunned if you don't stay in the moment. _This_ moment." Kanan says, pointing to the ground.

Ezra gives an exaggerated sigh and pulls down his eye shield and turns on his lightsaber.

"Kanan!" I call out to the unhappy Jedi.

"What is it?" Kanan's expression softens.

"I'm gonna stop for a few minutes." I scratch the back of my head nervously.

"Go ahead, you don't need to tell me." Kanan signals for everyone to continue shooting.

I sigh and bring my knees to my chest. I watch silently while unconsciously picking at one of the bandaids on my finger. I pause for a moment and see that Ezra had lifted his eye shield. I look closer and notice he looks a bit drowsy. I stand up and look at Kanan, wondering if he had noticed this. Ezra starts to swing sideways I run around Zeb to Kanan.

 _Something's wrong!_ I shout to Kanan through my head.

 _^What?^_

 _Ezra's falling_ \- I cut myself off as Ezra falls backwards, his eyes closed.

"Ezra!" Kanan runs over to Ezra.

After a few minutes Ezra wakes up startled. Kanan helps him sit up and Ezra rubs his head.

"I got stunned didn't I?" Ezra asks.

"No, you kinda just feel asleep…" I try to explain what I had seen.

"Actually, you deflected every blast back at the target." Kanan gestures towards the now smoky stormtrooper helmet.

"I saw something." Ezra squints his eyes at Kanan.

"Saw? You had a vision?" Kanan leans in closer with disbelief.

"I saw Gall Trayvis, Kanan, he knew my parents." Ezra says as I help him stand. "It was so real. You were there and-and you there, sneaking around in the dark the troopers were everywhere." Ezra looks to Sabine and Zeb and I.

"Sounds like a pretty average day," Sabine says.

"Except, Senator Trayvis was there. Fighting side-by-side with us and he said he knew my parent!" Ezra walks to the Ghost, his helmet tucked under his arm.

"Right," Kanan says, "look Ezra, just because you want somethin' to happen doesn't just mean that it's going to."

"But it might." Ezra turns around happily. Zeb smacks the back of his head. "Ow! What are you doing?" Ezra turns around and follows Zeb as they head back to the ship.

Zeb laughs, "Helping you to hone your Jedi powers, why didn't ya see that coming?"

"Doesn't work that way." Ezra grumbles, "OW! Stop!" he cries out when Sabine punches his shoulder.

"Maybe if we keep trying." Sabine smiles.

I run to Kanan and hand him back his blaster. He says thanks and tucks it away.

 _Can I talk to you, later?_ I hesitantly ask him through the Force.

 _^Sure, you can talk now.^_

 _Oh, um…you know that thing you said about visions?_

 _^Yeah. What about it?^_

 _I think I had one last night._

 _^You did?^_ Kanan stops in his tracks and turns around to face me. Hera yells something to Ezra and everyone rushes in.

"Kanan?" Hera asks.

"We'll be in, in a minute." Kanan reassures Hera.

"Hurry up then." Hera walks inside.

"You had a vision?" Kanan asks me.

"It felt like how Ezra described it. It was so real for the last parts." I smile, recalling the scene of everyone playing a game and staring at the clouds.

"Explain." Kanan says.

"It'll take too long. We should get going." I glance over Kanan shoulder at the inside of the _Ghost_.

"It won't take long at all, plus you're only like 12. You're supposed to rely on us." Kanan blocks my path as I try to walk around him.

"I'm 14!" I shout at him.

"Fine, that makes you one year younger than Ezra. Still not old enough to let me ignore this." Kanan says, "You have to trust us. After all, we're your new home."

"Later!" I grumble.

"Now." Kanan crosses his arms.

"Fine. At the beginning of the dream I was with my parents at my house. We were drawing. My dad was complementing my art and my mom was smiling. After that I was at the field where the animals who took me in live. I was playing with some of the pups. Next I was in the _Ghost_ , everyone was playing a game in the lounge. After that I was on a roof, looking at the clouds and on my waist was a lightsaber. It looked kinda like yours but I didn't get to see what color it was." I say in one breath really quickly.

"Wow." Kanan notes, "You said at the last one you had a lightsaber?"

"Yeah…"

"What did it look like?"

"It looked like yours but a bit different. The handle was smaller and it was a sunset color on the grip." I look at my feet.

"I see," Kanan rubs his chin, "Maybe this means a bit of something…"

"A bit of what something?" I ask.

"Well, maybe you're supposed to be a Jedi, like me and Ezra." Kanan says simply.

"What makes you think that?"

"A lot of things. But I can't confirm until I know more about you." Kanan shrugs his shoulders.

"What?"

"I'm saying that everyone knows nothing about you. We don't know your birthday, I only know a bit of your past because I know you're not telling me something and the others don't know your past at all." Kanan points at me.

"What do you want me to do about it?" I ask him sarcastically.

"Nothing, it's up to you to decide when and who you want to tell your past to." Kanan smiles and turns up the ramp. "Let's get going."

"Right." I sigh and decide that I would tell Kanan what I remember first, all of it this time.

I head up the ship and walk into the lounge. Ezra, Zeb, Sabine and Kanan are gathered around the table and talking about something.

"-folks used to." Ezra says proudly.

"And the clues he puts in his messages, where to meet him, are obvious to the locals and go right over the Empire's head. Watch." Hera plays a part of the transmission.

"The sun may have set on the Old Republic but a new freedom can be won." The picture of Gall Trayvis says.

"He said the Old Republic and a new freedom." Hera leans on the table.

"New freedom mural." I say.

Everyone looks at me.

"Everyone on Lothal knows about it. It's painted on the wall inside the Old Republic Senate building. Which reminds me that I have some equipment hidden in there." I remember a stash of paints and brushes I had left in the building.

"It's been abandoned since the Empire built the Imperial Complex. Good place for a friendly get-together." Sabine briefly pulls up a 3D image of it.

"Yeah," Zeb points out, "But when's this meeting?"

Ezra rolls his eyes, "He worked sunset and today into the message pretty obvious."

Kanan points out another thing, "Too obvious. We should have some insurance in case the Empire is more clever than we think."

"You've got a friend inside the Imperial Complex, right?" Hera asks Ezra, "So find out for sure."

"I'll meet you at my-at my parent's house at seventeen hundred." Ezra says and backs towards the door.

"Ezra." Kanan holds Ezra's shoulder for a moment, "About your vision, don't be too quick-"

Ezra cuts him off, "-to take it literally? Kanan, I know it's right. You're always telling me to trust my feelings, well I never felt stronger about anything in my life." Ezra closes his helmet and slides down the ladder.

Zeb, Sabine and Chopper leave the room to get ready. I lay across the table and sigh.

"Vision?" Hera asks.

"Yeah," Kanan sits next to me, "seems both of them had one."

"Both of them?" Hera says confused, "You mean Cleo had one too?"

"Yeah," I say, resting my chin on the table.

"What was it about?" Hera questions.

"Kanan." I plead Kanan to do the explaining.

"Okay," Kanan sighs and briefly explains Ezra's vision and my dream.

"Oh," Hera says softly.

"Can I tell you guys something?" I lift my head a little.

"What?" Kanan looks at me.

"The truth?" I sit up and my heart pounds in my chest.

"Are you sure you want to tell us now? I said you could tell anyone whenever you felt like it." Kanan asks me again.

"I'm sure." I nod my head, hoping I wouldn't regret this decision.

* * *

 **AHAHAHAHHAHAH. I finally did a chapter. That took a while. Sorry for not updating though. If you want please review because I still don't know what the hell I'm doing!**

 **See ya later!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Past

**Hey people, sorry for not updating for a verrrrrrry long time. I got lazy and distracted by my interviews for my new school. Anyways I'm glad I was able to get my computer back and write this! And I have a really bad memory so I'll just go and reread this whole fanfic…**

 **Also, I didn't mention what Cleo was wearing so now she's going to be wearing pants similar to the ones on Sabine's outfit except without the armor on the knees, tennis shoes, an orange shirt and a blue sweatshirt and on her back will be the rebel's logo.**

* * *

"Cleo, are you absolutely sure you want to tell us _now_?" Kanan asks again.

"Yes," I nod my head once more, "Can I please tell you before I change my mind?" I ask Kanan and Hera quickly because my stomach is starting to twist with near regret.

Kanan and Hera respond with a fast bob of their heads and I take a deep breath. _This is a lot tougher than I thought it would be…_

"So when I was little I lived with my parents in the city. I forgot which one but it was on Lothal. We were basically a normal family only that one day they just stopped seeing me. It was around when I was 3 -close to 4- years old. I didn't understand it, one day we're a happy family and the next they treat me like a pet." I pause a moment, still pushing back the feeling in my stomach. Kanan blinks and waits patiently for me continue, Hera smiles encouragingly and also waits. "So when I was 5 we were sitting at the table. I think they were discussing something important; their faces were so serious. There was a knock on the door so my dad got up and answered it." I shivered and pushed myself to remember the full memory. "There was a blast and I heard something fall and saw a group of people dressed in white armor at the doorway. My mom was in a panic and she scooped me out of the chair, ran upstairs with me and placed me in a fruit crate. She ran out the back door and placed me on our neighbor's back porch and ran off." I take a breather, close my eyes and continue. "I fell asleep and woke up to see that it was raining, the box was cold and there was a growling in front of me in the bushes. The Loth-wolves came out and picked me up by my shirt collar. Their fur was soft and warm so I fell asleep again and woke up in their den. When I stumbled outside, I was in the middle of a field. One of the Loth-wolves walked up to me and growled nicely, as if to say 'good morning and welcome to our home.' Being only 5, I wasn't at all afraid of the Loth-wolves. I steadily learned their language and became a new edition to their family. When I finally decided to go back to the city I wasn't exactly prepared for human socialization.. I still wasn't prepared for it." I unconsciously pick at the whip scar on my leg, Hera rests her hand on mine and keeps me going, "I ran into a few gangs and ran from a majority of them but then again I couldn't exactly run all the time. Some of them captured me," my voice turned to a whisper, "some tortured me, others just ran me ragged for the fun of it. After that I discovered the Empire and what they could do. I picked up art around that time." I smiled remembering the first time I drew on the city walls. "Few years after traveling around Lothal I saw something that made me so happy my heart would burst. My parents. I went up to them and reintroduced myself; after all they probably couldn't recognize me. Next thing I know they're telling me to get away from them and they didn't know any filthy Loth-rat. I was broken to bits so I went back to the Loth-wolves for a while and returned to the city Only way I knew how to feed myself was hunting or touching up the paint on people's vehicles. I kept at it a few more years, going from city to city. Eventually I started painting more openly and the Empire didn't appreciate it. When Sabine found me I was finishing up one of my new artworks. It's too bad because that one took me a long time to work on." I breathed deeply; the knots in my stomach are barely a loop now. "So I finally got that off my chest." I laugh nervously.

"Thank you, Cleo." Hera says and wraps me in a hug.

"Hey guys!" Sabine pops her head into the room. "You coming or what?" she does her best to ignore that Hera is hugging me but Sabine's head instantly fills with questions.

"Go on ahead. We'll meet you at Ezra's parent's house." Kanan tells Sabine and she walks away.

"We should get going." I say and Hera releases me from her arms.

We walk outside in silence, I'm surprised I didn't cry but I'm still amazed with myself that I had the guts to tell Hera and Kanan.

"Where exactly is Ezra's house?" I break the silence as we walk to the city.

"You'll see." Kanan says and continues walking.

I sigh and look at the sky, the clouds look like feathers. I flinch when something grabs my hand. I look to my left and Hera's holding my hand, she looks serious. I start to wonder about what Kanan had first said about Ezra, that even he had a tough time accepting his parent's death. I wonder what happened to them… think to myself, hoping Kanan wasn't listening.

We meet up at Ezra's house where Zeb, Sabine and Chopper were already waiting. Zeb had dozed off and Chopper was watching the door. Hera moves the cushion on the floor, revealing an underground room where Sabine was. I hold my breath a bit, the dusty smell making me want to sneeze. I decide that I don't appreciate the underground room very much so I go back to the living room and fall asleep.

I wake up to Ezra sliding the doors open. I rub my eyes and yawn. I follow him back into the underground room.

"I don't get it," Zeb sighs, "They weren't soldiers – just citizens so why'd they risk it all?"

"They had hope," Hera says as she tinkers with a box with lots of button on it, "that they could do something to make the galaxy a better place for

their son."

Sabine clears her throat, alerting Hera that Ezra and I were in the room.

"Cutting it a little close," Sabine observes as Ezra glances at Hera, "I know you don't want to miss Trayvis's meeting."

"Neither is the Empire." Ezra says and turns to Kanan, "You were right, Kanan. They know where the meeting is. Kallus has an operation, probably

to capture Trayvis or worse." Ezra's expression turns into sadness.

"Imperials will have numbers." Zeb states.

I blink still confused; _Kallus was probably someone in the Empire that had dealt with this crew before._

"We'll have surprise." Kanan crosses his arms, looking at the better side of things.

"What gives you that idea?" Sabine asks.

"I'm being optimistic." Kanan says happily.

I hold my laugh, seeing Kanan happy seemed weirdly funny. We leave for the Old Republic Senate building.

* * *

"Do you think we could stop for my paints?" I ask quietly from our spot a ways from the Republic building.

"Cleo!" Ezra says with disbelief, "What are you even going to use the paint for?"

"I might need it." I shrug my shoulders.

"Fine, if we see it then you can take it." Kanan says in a quietly strict voice.

"I'm not seeing any Imperial forces." Sabine says.

Kanan sighs, "Well, they gotta be around." He looks through his binoculars (AN: I don't know what they're called!) for any sign of Imperial

presence. "Yeah, I found them." Kanan looks at two troopers rounding the corner bellow.

"We gotta get Trayvis out of there before the Empire moves in." Ezra says as everyone gathers in a circle.

"Why haven't they moved in already?" I ask.

"They want us to." Kanan answers me. "It's a trap."

"So we don't walk into it, of course. We don't even know for sure if _your_ precious senator is in there." Zeb gestures to Ezra.

"Yes we do! I saw!" Ezra repeats himself.

"If we can get up there without being seen maybe we can fly him out on his own ship." Kanan suggests.

"I know one way!" I remember how I got into the building to hide my supplies.

"I know just what you're thinking. Come on." Ezra smiles and runs off.

* * *

 **Okay, okay. Even I'll admit that IT'S TOO $**^% SHORT! but hey, I'm working on the rest and this seemed like a good place to end the chapter. I'm still apologizing for it being so short though I also hate when chapters are short...**


	6. Chapter 6: Sentor and Stuff

**HEY GUYS! I'M BACK! I'M SO SOORRRRYYYY.**

 **You have permission to virtually hit me on the head because I am a lazy ! .  
**

* * *

"It's a sewer pipe." Zeb sniffs the air and groans.

"Yes it is. And I can pretty much guarantee that we're not going to run into any stormtroopers down there." Ezra smiles and climbs down the ladder.

"Terrific." Sabine says sarcastically and follows after Zeb.

"Home sweet home." I comment and jump down. "The water levels have gone down quiet a bit."

"Since the Empire started rationing it's really dry down here." Ezra explains.

"I used to do experimental stuff here, that's why most of my paints are in the building." I trace my fingers against the walls.

"It doesn't help the smell." Zeb waves his hand in front of his face.

"Speaking of which, it does smell like you." Sabine says.

"Ezra right?" I guess.

"Wait, you two know what I smell like?" Ezra turns his head to look at us.

"Can we focus. Please." Kanan says from the back with a stern tone.

We climb up the ladder at the end of the pipe. The view is not as good as it used to be but is still a view to behold.

"What do you think?" Ezra asks.

Kanan shakes his head and sighs, "Better safe than sorry."

"What are you doing?" I look as Kanan raises his hand towards the two droids.

There's a loud clang as the droids move inside the ship.

"Wow."

"You two, up top." Kanan points up, talking to Sabine and Zeb.

"Lift." Zeb whispers and has Sabine step on his hands.

"If you guys see my paints they're in a wooden box and has the letter C carved on the bottom." I tell them as the jump on the rooftop.

"Got it." Sabine says and flips up, Zeb follows by climbing.

When we walk into the room where we're supposed to meet Trayvis, it's surprisingly dark.

"Hello?" Trayvis asks as we enter. "Who's there?"

"Senator Trayvis!" Ezra waves at him. "We're friends."

"Welcome!" Trayvis smiles and throws his arms in the air. "I was beginning to think no one on Lothal got my message."

 _I kind of wish no one did._ I though to myself, hoping Kanan or Ezra wasn't listening.

"Senator, you're in terrible danger." Hera holds her blaster in her hand. "The Empire knows you're here."

"That's impossible." Trayvis states.

"It wasn't the most difficult message to decipher." I whisper under my breath.

Kanan jumps to the side as a laser shoots from behind the door.

Instead of running like I normally would when painting and being shot at – I freeze on the spot. I close my eyes and cover my ears; then feel warmth behind my back. Kanan and Ezra had their lightsabers out now. It comforted me a little.

"Kanan Jarrus. Jedi knight. Padawan Jabba. And what have we here? A Twi'lek I've yet to meet?" Kallus walks up to us, hands behind his back, "From your regalia I suspect you must be our talented pilot. And another little one?"

I tense up again as Kallus looks at me. Hera backs into me, trying to get me to move a bit.

"Where is the Lasat and the Mandalorian girl?" Maketh asks from behind Kallus.

"If you won't talk then my troopers will become a firing squad." Kallus threatens.

"Better do as he says." Trayvis whispers.

"Don't worry, Senator. Our friends will be along." Ezra smiles.

I shake my head to stop my vision from blurring and grab hold of Hera's arm. There's a rapid beeping and then smoke fills the room.

"Stay close Senator." I hear Hera shooting and I detach from her arm.

"What's going on?" I ask as loudly as I could.

"Just some smoke cover." Hera reassures me.

Kanan yells something over the gunfire that I don't hear well.

Ezra tugs my arm, dragging me outside. Everyone else follows.

My head started to clear again. _This area looks familiar._ I look around and trace my hands against the wall. I feel a loose piece of tile and pry it off.

"My stuff!" I exclaim and take out the wooden box. "My jacket!" I reach in the back and pull out my red jacket, painted with glow-in-the-dark paint patterns on the hood. "I forgot how much stuff I put in here." I take out the last item – a bag with little nicknacks I found. Mainly bolts, wires, spare parts and buttons – stuff like that.

"We got to go!" Ezra pulls me out of my memories.

"Right, right." I tie the jacket around my waist, pocketing the bag of nicknacks and run with the box in my arms.

* * *

 **I'm really really sorry that I've been gone for like 7 months. I didn't really feel like continuing this but now that I think about it I really like writing stuff like this. So I'll do my best to continue. I might disappear but I'll come back. Thank you for waiting for so long for this chapter. I hope you liked it considering my style has changed a bit.  
**


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